


some invisible string

by surrenderer



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Ritual (Star Wars), Kyber Crystals (Star Wars), Kylux Positivity Week (Star Wars), M/M, Planet Ilum (Star Wars), Pre-Canon, Pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Secret Marriage, Secret Relationship, Soft Kylux
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:07:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29830926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/surrenderer/pseuds/surrenderer
Summary: Hux will claim, later, that he only said yes because of the way Ren distracted him and cajoled him into thinking it was a great idea, to enter some sort of Force-bonded marriage with Kylo Ren, of all people; he would’ve never agreed to such a foolish proposition otherwise.For Kylux Positivity Week 3.0, Day 3: Marriage Ceremonies
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 18
Kudos: 88
Collections: Kylux Positivity Week the 3rd





	some invisible string

**Author's Note:**

> Happy KPW 3.0! Here are this event's [prompts](https://twitter.com/kyluxpositivity/status/1354912385119772675). Thanks, as always, to the moderator team for organizing!

“We wouldn’t need anything else,” Ren had said, lips pressing to Hux’s neck in a series of warm, wet kisses as they lay in bed together two standard weeks ago. “Just the two of us, and the Force. We’ll become stronger this way, bonded together through the Dark Side. No one could stop us.”

Hux will claim, later, that he only said yes because of the way Ren distracted him and cajoled him into thinking it was a great idea, to enter some sort of Force-bonded marriage with Kylo Ren, of all people; he would’ve never agreed to such a foolish proposition otherwise.

But here, in the soft glow of one of Ilum’s many caves, he finds it hard to want anything else, or to regret his decision. The outcroppings of kyber glow icy-white around them, even as Kylo waits for him in the center of the cavern.

No one else knows they’re here, Hux is sure of it. He didn’t even put a block of time on his meticulously-organized schedule. As far as anyone knows, he’s in his quarters on the temporary base, off-duty. The longer they can keep this a secret, the better. Despite all of Ren’s assurances that the Supreme Leader would not find out, Hux still feels some trepidation at what Snoke’s reaction would be upon finding out that his favored apprentice, the powerful Skywalker heir, had bonded himself to a Force-null general, no matter how impressive his military track record.

“I didn’t think you’d come,” Ren confesses when Hux is close enough to hear his whispers. He isn’t wearing his helmet, just his usual robes, and his lightsaber hanging off his belt.

“I considered it,” Hux says, “and then I decided it wasn’t worth the tantrum you’d throw in the console room if I didn’t.”

Ren smiles as if he’d told the greatest joke in the galaxy, but takes Hux’s gloved hands. “Here,” he says, guiding him to the wall of the cave, where a cluster of pale, colorless crystals protrude from the stone. “This one. You just have to place your hands on it.”

Hux makes to do so, but Ren stops him. Then, carefully, he slides each glove off Hux’s hands, and tucks them into some pocket in his own robes. Hux feels the chill of the cave immediately, and even more so when Ren guides his hand to the crystal.

If Hux didn’t know better, he would’ve thought he was touching a block of ice, but gradually, the kyber under his fingertips warms up as Ren removes his gloves and places a hand on the crystal too. Hux can feel a thrum of energy just below the surface of the crystal.

Ren takes Hux’s hand with his free one. “Don’t stop touching the kyber,” he says. “No matter what happens. Not until the ritual is complete.”

“…why? What’s supposed to happen?” Hux asks suspiciously, but Ren has already closed his eyes. The hairs on the back of his neck start prickling as the kyber under their hands starts glowing a muted red— nothing like the glow of Ren’s lightsaber, but still unnerving, especially as other crystals in the cavern follow suit.

He doesn’t know how, but one minute, he’s looking at Ren, and the next, he’s somehow falling through infinite space. The crystal under his hand and Ren’s hand in his keep him physically tethered to the present, but Hux feels every emotion coursing through him tenfold, amplified by Ren’s own surging emotions—chilling loneliness, anger, pain. Uncertainty. And then peace, and security, and something that might be trust. Whether it’s from both of them or neither of them, Hux wouldn’t be able to tell.

It’s a struggle to remember himself as a separate entity from Ren and from the Force and from the kyber crystal itself. Just when he thinks he’ll be washed away by the tides, subsumed into the Force, something tethers to him and pulls him back. It feels like Ren, somehow. Hux doesn’t know how he knows that, but when he feels the connection for himself, he knows as sure as anything that it’s Ren.

Just as Hux finishes his thought, he feels a warm pulse along whatever it is that connects the two of them. _It’s me_ , Ren confirms. They’ve spoken before like this, mind to mind, but it’s never felt as easy. Hux has always had to strain to hear Ren, for lack of a better comparison. But if Ren were to call him now from the other side of the cave, or even the other side of the planet, Hux thinks he’d be able to hear him clearly.

_It seems to have worked,_ Hux thinks cautiously. He slowly becomes aware of his body again, his tight grip on Ren’s hand, the warmth of the red kyber crystal under their hands. _Does this mean I have your powers now?_

_No, but we’re bonded. You’ll be able to find me anywhere, anytime. No tracking devices needed. My connection to the Dark Side is stronger through you. It’s like we’re more attuned to each other now. On the same frequency._

“Ah,” Hux says aloud. His voice cracks, like he’d been shouting this whole time. Maybe he has. He wouldn’t know. He slowly opens his eyes, though, to admire the red glow of the cave, overwhelming the white of the few unaffected kyber crystals, and Ren himself, pale and sweating from the effort of creating a bond between them.

But he did it, and now nothing can tear them apart. Hux can feel the bond solidifying between them; it would take a very strong enemy to rise against them now.

“I did do one more thing,” Ren says before Hux can do anything absurd like kiss him in this damp and cold cave, and reaches into his robe. Hux wonders if he’ll get his gloves back, but Ren brings out a kyber crystal instead, small and unobtrusive. It glows red just like the others, but it’s been affixed to a piece of metal so it resembles a pendant, with a small loop at the top to thread it through a chain.

Ren hands him the crystal, although he can’t disguise how his hand shakes minutely as he passes the pendant over. Hux feels his nervousness, although it’s not just him— his own breath catches a little too when it lands in his palm. “You can hang it with your tags. I figured you wouldn’t want a ring yet. The longer you wear it, the more connected you’ll feel to it and the Force.” _And to me_ , goes unspoken.

Hux looks at it in the palm of his hand, then pulls his chain out from under his uniform tunic. He has to take it off before he can string the pendant onto the chain, but that’s easily done, and then the pendant sits neatly against his chest with his identification tags. The red glow reflects subtly off the metal, in an aesthetically pleasing way. “I think it fits well,” he says as he looks down at it, more as a joke than anything else, but when he looks up at Ren, he falters.

Ren is not good at hiding his emotions; the mask he wears serves dual purposes: to intimidate and to hide his soft eyes and open face. So Hux looks at him, and sees a terrifying, dizzying depth of sentiment in his face. He’s never seen it, or allowed himself to see it, because danger lurks around every corner. But there’s no point in hiding from Ren now. Hux walked into this with his thoughts intact and eyes wide open—he can only blame himself if things go horribly wrong.

_But they won’t_ , he thinks. _We would never let it._

“Oh, come here,” he says, and pulls Ren down for a kiss, to seal their bond.

**Author's Note:**

> Here I am on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/parttimewonders) and [Tumblr](https://part-timewonders.tumblr.com/).


End file.
